A Cooke telescope and early photographs of the Moon

 

In 1857 Charles Howell (1783-1867) of Hove, Brighton purchased a 6.25 inch Thomas Cooke of York telescope, it was similar in design to the one that was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1855.

The telescope would be placed into an observatory, which I believe was built locally and not a Cooke observatory. Later after 1864 he also purchased a 7.5 inch Thomas Cooke & Sons telescope. It was this telescope that Mr Fry used to photograph the Moon with in 1865. This telescope was housed in a separate observatory and again this observatory appears to be locally made.

He was also interested in double stars and planets, and because of his age he often let his many friends in the Brighton area use his telescopes.